Morning fire guts house off interstate

A fire of unknown origin leveled a three-story wood frame
residence south of Interstate 90 at the Tarkio exit Monday
morning.

Neighbors noticed what they believed to be smoke sifting from
house's vents about 8 a.m., according to Scott Waldron, chief of
the Frenchtown Fire Department, but they couldn't see any
flames.

By 9:45 a.m., when the Mineral County Sheriff's Department
called Frenchtown Fire for assistance, there was little chance of
saving the structure.

"Once it was vented, it was fully involved in a matter of
minutes," Waldron said, adding that all firefighters could do was
spray the water they carried on their tenders, then watch the
structure burn.

The house, which was unoccupied at the time of the fire, is
owned by John Bedell, who is out of town.

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There were no injuries, but the blaze sparked a one-acre grass
fire that was extinguished by the U.S. Forest Service, Waldron
said.

"Residents who build in areas with no fire protection and a long
ways from water supply should put residential sprinklers in their
homes," he said. "There's just no way to provide adequate
protection for homes in that area."

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